Birdwatching Trip Report - 10th August 2024

Saturday, August 10th gave us a lovely, warm evening, with a gentle breeze and a mix of sunshine and cloud. August can be an exciting time for the birdwatcher, with many species on the move. Waders in particular can be a highlight of a late-summer outing on the Axe Estuary, and so it proved…

Curlews are here in numbers now, and a few gave us wonderful views on the estuary mud alongside the tramline, beautifully lit in the evening sunshine. Two Common Sandpipers opposite the Seaton Marshes hide showed well also, their distinctive flight and bobbing tails making them easy to identify. A little later, at Black Hole Marsh, a sizeable flock of Black-tailed Godwits were a real treat. The sun conveniently hid behind some cloud for a while, allowing us good views of these elegant waders, recently returned from breeding grounds in Iceland. Many still wore a good proportion of their breeding plumage too, with a mix of brick-red and chequered feathers still to be seen among the plainer grey winter feathers coming through now. Another migrant wader was a single Greenshank on the estuary.

We always hope for an encounter with Kingfisher at this time of year, but they can be frustratingly elusive! So it proved this time, with just a couple of very brief flight views.

There was a large gathering of gulls on the estuary opposite the Tower Hide, but apart from a nice comparison of the two Black-backed Gull species (Great with its pink legs, and Lesser with its yellow legs) the flock didn’t appear to contain anything out of the ordinary this time.

A major highlight was the sighting of two Barn Owls together on the eastern side of the valley. An evening trip on the Birdwatching Tram is always a treat – the Axe Valley at the end of the day is a glorious mix of peaceful scenery and evocative sounds – so the added sight of these wonderful birds preparing for a night’s activity was the icing on the cake!

A non-bird highlight was a Roe Deer along the tramline, which gave great views.

The final tally was 49 species seen and/or heard, all listed below...